Posted by Jim Erhardt on January 22, 2017 at 1:50 PM
So, I have decided to deactivate my personal FB account. The level of angst and ugliness on social media has reached truly toxic levels and I no longer want to subject myself to it (we will maintain the NPN FB page for marketing purposes).
The great FaceBook (and social media) experiment has been an interesting one, but I think between "fake news" links and the political rancor, it has truly become a detriment to society. In all honesty, it feels good to walk away from it, like kicking a bad habit.
Jim, for the reasons you mention and then some I've never joined. My wife has an account for ONLY one reason. We're in a local battle with a developer and all concerned communicate on that platform.
I have found the "fake news" stuff on my basic AOL account and cannot imagine how anyone can follow that stuff, oh wait, I think they might read the checkout counter trash too.
Anyway, I had a good laugh a few years back when you said you had to check your FB account to see how many likes you'd received for listing what you'd had for breakfast that morning.......LOL
Or something to that affect.......
Posted by Richard Ditch on January 23, 2017 at 12:01 AM
Good move Jim.
I've never joined although a lot of people have tried to get me to do so. My reasons have been mostly to do with privacy. But a downside of not joining is my wife's brother continues to email me out of focus photos a cell phone video of his latest grandson that I then have to endure while my wife looks at them on my computer or iPad.
Posted by Barbara Graham on January 23, 2017 at 12:11 AM
Just an idea, but you guys can have a FB account with a very limited number of friends, or just family members, and if anybody posts stuff you don't like or you have trouble dealing with you can unfollow them. I went a long time with just about a dozen FB friends, a long time. Now I have more, but they all meet one criteria: They either are of like mind as I am or they know not to say anything in response to things I post.
The fake news thing is obviously troublesome, but I'd much rather verify the source or use sources that can be trusted on FB (Washington Post, etc.) than get any news at all any more from TV. I don't think I'll be able to watch TV for a long time to come, so without FB I wouldn't have any idea what was happening. I could go on, but I'll stop there.
Posted by Jim Erhardt on January 23, 2017 at 6:49 AM
For me it was a matter of honestly evaluating how my participation on FB enriches my life. Other than having caught up with old friends, I concluded it was more of a detriment than anything else.
Try this: Google reasons to quit Facebook and check out the many articles written on the topic. I decided it was the right decision for me.
I joined FB last week (after avoiding it for years) in order to use Messenger to communicate with my wife. Now, I am seriously considering deactivating my account for the very reasons you indicated, Jim.
While some of the posts and images I see there are very nice, the political vitriol and religious ravings do not engender good feelings, and cause stress. I do not need that at all. I have already 'un-followed' several people for their vitriolic posts, and media outlets pushing fake or openly biased news.
I have always been thankful that NPN, along with a couple of other forums I visit regularly, have policies against such topics. While I fervently believe in free speech, and a person's right to their opinion, there are places like FB, or dedicated forums for those topics. I am glad I have the choice leave or stay, as I see fit.
--P
Posted by Lon Overacker on January 23, 2017 at 3:47 PM
Jim,
I feel much the same way. I've only been on FB for less than a year. I had avoided.... until my first grandson arrived. I wanted to be able to see pics, follow him growing up, etc. There is value in communicating with family and close friends. But in this short time I've already un-followed friends and extended family members. Often times because of the rancor, etc., but also due to sheer volume of crap. How many vacation destinations, pretty flowers or cat videos do we need? (none.)
Here's a few thoughts that I've contemplating posting to Public on FB:
1. It takes absolutely ZERO courage to post, share, or like anything. The ONLY thing it accomplishes is making the poster feel good about themselves.
2. It requires NO KNOWLEDGE or RESEARCH to post, share or like anything.
3. Very little, if any civil discourse. What you just posted or commented on: Would you behave that way having a conversation face to face with a real person?
4. Very few, if any, opinions have been changed as a result of someone posting, sharing or liking anything. See #1 above - it only serves to make you feel awesome, like "Man, I sure told them!"
I don't know how long I'll participate either....
Thank goodness NPN has provided an environment that is void of politics. I hope that continues.
Posted by Jim DeWitt on January 23, 2017 at 5:16 PM
I've only been on FB a couple years, but my experience is that FB is what you make it. If you are selective in your friends and careful in your privacy settings, you can have meaningful discourse, share useful information and avoid FB's downsides. FB has a lot of flaws, and I wouldn't criticize anyone who left it, but it lets you keep in touch.
And you should also follow Groucho Marx's instructions and never try to have a battle of wits with an unarmed man. Because there is a lot of witless on FB.
Posted by Lon Overacker on January 23, 2017 at 5:55 PM
....never try to have a battle of wits with an unarmed man
Love that quote! It's so true. reminds me of my favorite quote - which I do not know original source. This says just about the same thing:
"People do not want to be confused with facts that contradict their preconceived opinions"
Posted by Jim Erhardt on January 23, 2017 at 6:34 PM
Lon, I agree with all of your points! People "live stream" their rants/angst straight onto FB, and never is that pretty....
Posted by Igor Doncov on January 24, 2017 at 6:37 PM
I'm a big Facebook fan. I have lots of boyhood friends across the country now and we all keep in touch with one another through facebook. I now feel part of their lives and they feel part of mine. I know how everyone spent Thanksgiving, what they ate in Las Vegas, and how they're dealing with the latest rainstorm. You learn quickly where the negative posts come from and deal with them.
The biggest barrier to Facebook seems to be generational. There seems to be an age barrier, above which people seldom use Facebook. The reasons stated vary but the age is pretty consistent. I think people just have a difficult time adjusting to new mediums as they get older.
I think the Facebook concept is brilliant. I follow a number of landscape photographers through FB (Guy Tal, Jack Dykingam Jim Stimson, John Paul Caponigro) and when they post an image I am immediately notified with the new image. I can then go to their website and poke around. That's so much better than rechecking websites repeatedly or getting an email even.
To each his own I guess.
Posted by Jim Zablotny on January 25, 2017 at 6:02 PM
I maintain an FB account which allows me to advertise some of my images. I stay away from the politics and rumors that get posted too often. I do communicate with some of my long lost friends on FB and that is a good thing. It is not an essential part of my life because I'd rather be outside...........................Jim
Posted by Jim Erhardt on January 26, 2017 at 8:53 AM
I think the Facebook concept is brilliant. I follow a number of landscape photographers through FB (Guy Tal, Jack Dykingam Jim Stimson, John Paul Caponigro) and when they post an image I am immediately notified with the new image. I can then go to their website and poke around. That's so much better than rechecking websites repeatedly or getting an email even.
I can certainly see the benefit of using FB that way but the fact that you still need to go to another site to see a reasonable representation of the image IMO makes FB less than ideal for photo appreciation or critique. Compared to what can be uploaded to NPN, photos posted on FB look pretty bad in terms of compression.
If I had the resources, I would have a function created on NPN to allow a member to "follow" other members and create a personalized gallery based on what they have posted. That way you could go straight to your "following" gallery and enjoy the photos in full 1600 pixel/1 MB resolution without having to leave the site.
If I had the resources, I would have a function created on NPN to allow a member to "follow" other members and create a personalized gallery based on what they have posted. That way you could go straight to your "following" gallery and enjoy the photos in full 1600 pixel/1 MB resolution without having to leave the site.
Dang, that's a great idea! I agree FB's image rendering leaves a lot to be desired. NPN's image viewer does a great job with the large version of any image.
--P
Discussion
13 repliesThe great FaceBook (and social media) experiment has been an interesting one, but I think between "fake news" links and the political rancor, it has truly become a detriment to society. In all honesty, it feels good to walk away from it, like kicking a bad habit.
Peace, happiness and good health to all in 2017!
I have found the "fake news" stuff on my basic AOL account and cannot imagine how anyone can follow that stuff, oh wait, I think they might read the checkout counter trash too.
Anyway, I had a good laugh a few years back when you said you had to check your FB account to see how many likes you'd received for listing what you'd had for breakfast that morning.......LOL
Or something to that affect.......
I've never joined although a lot of people have tried to get me to do so. My reasons have been mostly to do with privacy. But a downside of not joining is my wife's brother continues to email me out of focus photos a cell phone video of his latest grandson that I then have to endure while my wife looks at them on my computer or iPad.
The fake news thing is obviously troublesome, but I'd much rather verify the source or use sources that can be trusted on FB (Washington Post, etc.) than get any news at all any more from TV. I don't think I'll be able to watch TV for a long time to come, so without FB I wouldn't have any idea what was happening. I could go on, but I'll stop there.
Try this: Google reasons to quit Facebook and check out the many articles written on the topic. I decided it was the right decision for me.
While some of the posts and images I see there are very nice, the political vitriol and religious ravings do not engender good feelings, and cause stress. I do not need that at all. I have already 'un-followed' several people for their vitriolic posts, and media outlets pushing fake or openly biased news.
I have always been thankful that NPN, along with a couple of other forums I visit regularly, have policies against such topics. While I fervently believe in free speech, and a person's right to their opinion, there are places like FB, or dedicated forums for those topics. I am glad I have the choice leave or stay, as I see fit.
--P
I feel much the same way. I've only been on FB for less than a year. I had avoided.... until my first grandson arrived. I wanted to be able to see pics, follow him growing up, etc. There is value in communicating with family and close friends. But in this short time I've already un-followed friends and extended family members. Often times because of the rancor, etc., but also due to sheer volume of crap. How many vacation destinations, pretty flowers or cat videos do we need? (none.)
Here's a few thoughts that I've contemplating posting to Public on FB:
1. It takes absolutely ZERO courage to post, share, or like anything. The ONLY thing it accomplishes is making the poster feel good about themselves.
2. It requires NO KNOWLEDGE or RESEARCH to post, share or like anything.
3. Very little, if any civil discourse. What you just posted or commented on: Would you behave that way having a conversation face to face with a real person?
4. Very few, if any, opinions have been changed as a result of someone posting, sharing or liking anything. See #1 above - it only serves to make you feel awesome, like "Man, I sure told them!"
I don't know how long I'll participate either....
Thank goodness NPN has provided an environment that is void of politics. I hope that continues.
And you should also follow Groucho Marx's instructions and never try to have a battle of wits with an unarmed man. Because there is a lot of witless on FB.
Love that quote! It's so true. reminds me of my favorite quote - which I do not know original source. This says just about the same thing:
The biggest barrier to Facebook seems to be generational. There seems to be an age barrier, above which people seldom use Facebook. The reasons stated vary but the age is pretty consistent. I think people just have a difficult time adjusting to new mediums as they get older.
I think the Facebook concept is brilliant. I follow a number of landscape photographers through FB (Guy Tal, Jack Dykingam Jim Stimson, John Paul Caponigro) and when they post an image I am immediately notified with the new image. I can then go to their website and poke around. That's so much better than rechecking websites repeatedly or getting an email even.
To each his own I guess.
If I had the resources, I would have a function created on NPN to allow a member to "follow" other members and create a personalized gallery based on what they have posted. That way you could go straight to your "following" gallery and enjoy the photos in full 1600 pixel/1 MB resolution without having to leave the site.
--P